'He needs to give an answer for the betterment of Indian cricket' - Salman Butt after Virat Kohli contradicts Sourav Ganguly's claims

Virat Kohli revealed that he was never asked by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to not leave the T20I captaincy of the Indian side. BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had earlier stated that Kohli was specifically asked not to step down as the T20I captain, but gave up the captaincy in the T20I format.

And now, former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt has said that Ganguly should now give an answer to this ‘captaincy issue’. Adding that Virat Kohli contracting the BCCI President is not a small thing, Butt opined that there might be unrest in the Indian camp due to two contrasting statements from Ganguly and Kohli.

“Ganguly needs to answer this for the betterment of Indian cricket. He is the President of the BCCI and Kohli contradicting him in public is not a small thing. On one hand, Ganguly said he had requested Kohli not to step down from T20 captaincy. But Kohli has now come out and claimed that no one from BCCI ever spoke to him about it. These are two completely contrasting statements. This is unrest,” said Salman Butt on his YouTube channel.

Unnecessary controversy has been created: Salman Butt

Salman Butt also feels that the main issue in the Indian side is not about Rohit Sharma taking over as the captain of the Indian ODI side, but about the ‘passing of the baton’ which has not been done in a smooth manner. The former Pakistan opening batter also opined that there will now be a lack of trust between Ganguly and Kohli.

“It is not a question of captaincy. Debate is not about Rohit taking over. He is a good captain and has proved himself at the international and IPL level. The procedure to pass on the responsibility from one great to another was not smooth. Unnecessary controversy has been created and there will be trust deficit between Kohli and Ganguly going ahead,” said Butt.

Butt also added that keeping the team united will be a challenge for Rohit Sharma and concluded by stating that if the ‘Hitman’ passes this test, then he would have proven himself as a leader.

“Rohit’s biggest test now will be to keep the team united, despite all that has happened in Indian cricket in recent times. If he passes the test, he will prove to be a wonderful leader,” concluded Salman Butt.